Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds Five and Guster to play Tanglewood

It's such a perfect combination of bands, you wonder why someone didn't think of it before: Ben Folds Five, Barenaked Ladies, and Guster.

"It's actually kind of a dream bill for us," said Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies. "These are guys we have admired for a long time.

The bands bring their current tour to the Tanglewood on Tuesday. Robertson took a few minutes out of his schedule to talk about the show and the most recent BNL record, "Grinning Streak."

You have been together 25 years now. What do you think the secret of your longevity is?

Yes, it's been 25 years and it's kind of unsettling to me that I've now been in a band called Barenaked Ladies longer than I haven't been. (Laughs.) I think the spontaneity and improv element of our live show keeps every night really fun and challenging. The live show has been a real strength and staple of this band and it keeps us pushing forward and growing. Plus we're always writing new material so there's always a good reason to go back and make another record and then a good reason to go back out on tour. But the bottom line? We just like it. It's an awesome way to spend your time. It beats hanging drywall. (Laughs.)

Your 2010 album, "All in Good Time," was recorded right after all the tumultuous stuff going on in the band with (co-founder) Steven Page leaving. What was it like going back in the studio this time with a few years distance since the band's shake up?

"All in Good Time" was really just about getting back on our feet and kind of dusting ourselves off and showing we could stand up again. When we hit the studio to do this new record, we had a renewed sense of confidence as a four-piece. So we just really hit the ground running with this one. There was a lot of spontaneity and creative in the studio and was probably the most fun record we've ever made.

As far as that idea of carrying on as a four-piece after Steven left: Was that a conscious decision or is that just the way it played out?

A lot of fans wondered what we are going to do but the options were never either to continue as a four-piece or continue as a five-piece; they were continuos a four-piece or not continue at all. I started this band when I was 18; I named the band, and I co-wrote all the songs. So for me there was no question I want to continue on making this music and that was true of the other guys as well.

Some of the songs on this album seem more sincere lyrically as far as emotional impact, instead of being couched in cleverness. Was that something you did intentionally?

Yes, I think that really was a conscious effort with this group of songs. I had a lot of emotional stuff I wanted to address, a lot of stuff that have been kicking around in my head for years and years and years. So I thought, "I don't want to be cagey about this, I want to be direct." And it was very effective for me to write that way. And I'm getting a lot of feedback from people that they really appreciated the openness.